The Iceman's Dreams
by cmoreno100
Summary: What does an Iceman have nightmares about? And what happens when they start becoming reality? Inspired by UXM
1. Chapter 1

The Iceman's Dreams

By: cmoreno100

PG, Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Iceman and other X-men characters are owned and copyright of Marvel and are being used here for non-profit entertainment only.

This story was inspired by UXM #429, and Sue Penkivech's excellent story "From the Journal of Bobby Drake".

---------------------------

Bobby Drake did not want to go to sleep. Funny thing was that reality seemed like a dream lately, or more like a nightmare. All he had to do was open his shirt to see. It was apparently a secondary mutation, triggered by Black Tom, and now Bobby was turning into ice, without being able to turn back to flesh and blood.

--------

When he was a young boy, he woke up one night with a nightmare. Jumping out of bed, he ran toward his parent's room. Before he got to their door, a voice coming from the living room stopped him on his tracks.

"Where are you going, son?"

Little Bobby turned to see his father, sitting in the living room in the dark. He walked towards the man, a little afraid.

"umm…I had a nightmare, Dad. I was gonna see if maybe…if maybe I could sleep with you and mom…"

"Now, you know you are too old for that. Let's take you back to your room and let your mother rest."

Bobby walked with his father back to his room. Part of him wanted his father to ask him what the nightmare was. He wanted to tell him that it was the second night with the same dream. In the dream, he was feeling very cold, shivering uncontrollably. Then, his body started to change, his skin started to harden, and then to turn almost transparent. He looked at his body in horror, as it became cold, as it became ice. He tried to make it go away, to become flesh again, but he could not. With desperation, he clawed at his frozen skin, until he woke up.

But his father never asked. And even if he had, Bobby did not know if he would have told him.

They went back to his room and he climbed in the bed. His father stood by as Bobby covered himself in the blanket.

"Now you go to sleep, Bobby, and stay in your bed. You're a big boy now."

"'Kay, Dad. Good night."

William Drake lowered his head and kissed Bobby's forehead.

"Good night."

"Dad, can you leave the door open?"

"Okay." His father said, as he left the room.

---------

Bobby stood inside the kitchen freezer in the dark, the closed door keeping the cold inside. He remembered other times he had those dreams, even after his mutation had manifested itself. When he told the Professor, he theorized that the dreams had been perhaps a subconscious acceptance of his mutation.

One night, however, he had a particularly bad nightmare. He had only been in the mansion for a few weeks, and was dealing with a sense of dread. The changes in his life, after all, were hard to cope with for a 16 year-old living away from home for the first time.

In his dream, he was ice, not the snowy appearance that he was manifesting at this point of his life, but a more refined, pure, transparent ice form. But then, his ice body started to crack, starting with small lines that quickly grew all along his body. The cracking sound of ice filled his mind, and he tried to stop it to no avail. It started in his legs, which quickly broke away in small chunks of ice, and it traveled up his spine, until he could feel his chest breaking away, the noises now almost deafening, as it reached his head, and then there was darkness.

He awoke with a scream, and when he looked around he saw that his room was covered in a slight sleet. He tried to control himself, but as much as he fought it, soon tears were flowing down his face. He laid down on the bed again and covered his whole body under his blanket.

A minute later, he felt a strong hand.

"Bobby?"

Bobby inhaled long and hard, dried his eyes and lowered the blanket. Standing there was the strong figure of Hank McCoy.

"Hey, Hank." Bobby said softly

"Are you okay? I heard a scream."

Bobby looked around, now very self-conscious of his surroundings. Had anybody else heard him too? He did not want anybody else to know, especially Warren, who would probably tease him for at least a few days.

"I'm fine, thanks. Did I wake up anyone else?"

"I do not believe so. I was already awake reading."

Hank sat on the bed, looking at Bobby.

"Bad nightmare?"

Bobby considered the big man sitting next to him. Ever since he had arrived, Bobby liked Hank. He was good-natured, intelligent, and did not mind Bobby's jokes, or his immaturities. He was like a big brother. Bobby felt that if he could be honest with anybody, it would be with Hank.

"Yes."

"Let me guess: it has something to do with ice, does it not?"

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"An educated guess."

"Well, it's not the first time."

Hank raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've been dreaming of turning into ice since I was a kid, but lately the dreams have changed. Lately, in the dreams…"

Bobby swallowed before continuing.

"Well, lately, in the dreams, I break off, you know, into chunks of ice, and well, I guess I end up dead."

"I see. Perhaps you are having difficulties with the idea of training to be an X-man."

"No, it's not that…well, maybe, I dunno."

Bobby decided to open up to Hank, and the two ended up talking for most of the night. It felt good to be able to talk to somebody.

After what seemed like a couple of hours, Hank stood up and walked towards the door.

"Well, I better retreat to my quarters so we can get some rest, or our performance during tomorrow's training will leave much to be desired."

"You're off to bed, is what you're trying to say." Bobby said, smiling

"Indeed. Good night." Hank replied, as he stepped out of the room and started to close Bobby's door behind him.

"Hank?"

"Yes?"

"Can you leave the door open?"

"Of course." Hank said, and walked back to his room.

Ever since then, Hank had been his support. But it had been a while since the two of them _talked_. Sure, they had conversations, but not like they used to. That was why Bobby had not told Hank about his secondary mutation.

Now he was standing there, in the dark, unhappy and unsure of what the future would bring. But most of all, he felt alone.

And then the freezer door opened.


	2. Chapter 2

The Iceman's Dreams

PG, Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Iceman and other X-men characters are owned and copyright of Marvel and are being used here for non-profit entertainment only.

Thanks for the reviews! And yes, this is inspired from the comics, specifically issue # 429 of Uncanny X-men (the in-between moments).

Part two:

Bobby Drake looked around but could not believe his eyes. The world had turned into something out of the Ice Age. The whole ground was covered in snow. He yelled, calling for somebody, anybody, but there was no answer. Slowly, he began to wonder if he was alone in this new ice world. He kept advancing on the snow, until he saw a huge iceberg in front of him. As he got closer, he saw that what had looked like an iceberg was in fact a building, trapped inside a block of ice. Then he recognized it; Xavier's Institute. Bobby yelled, but no one yelled back.

"Bobby!"

"Huh?"

Slowly, Bobby Drake opened his eyes. It took him half a second to realize that the Ice world was a dream, and to remember where he was. He had dozed off on the back of the X-jet. It all came back then, being discovered in the walk-in freezer, meeting with Xavier and his teammates, finding out that Kurt had mysteriously taken an X-jet, and then the team heading off to find him. He looked up to see the winged figure with a telephone in his hand.

"Telephone." Warren said, handing the apparatus to him, and sitting down in the seat across the plane. Still drowsy, Bobby grabbed the phone.

"Hello?"

"Bobby! Are you aware of the risk of your actions?"

"Hank?"  
"Of course, now would you care to explain to me why you chose to take part in this latest quest?"

"What do you mean? I'm part of the team, so…"

"The professor just notified me of your current condition." Hank said, interrupting Bobby in mid-sentence.

"Oh, the ice in the chest thing?"

"Precisely. The proper course of action would have been for you to undergo a series of tests as soon as possible."

"Well, there was no time, we had to go quickly to catch up with Kurt."

Hank sighed. "Bobby, why did you not inform me?"

Silence.

"I don't know Hank. Anyway, what's the big deal with going on this mission?"

"The deal, my stubborn friend, is that we do not know the full extent of your current state. Without a proper diagnostic examination, I cannot predict how it may affect you in a hostile situation, or…"

"…or what would happen if I got hurt?" Bobby said, knowing what Hank was thinking.

"Indeed."

"Come on, Hank, I don't plan on getting hurt. Besides, how is that different from any other mission? We all put it out on the line every time we put on the uniform. You know that, old friend."

Hank sighed again. "Just be careful out there, Bobby. And as soon as you are back, I want you in my lab to perform a full examination."

"All right, Hankster, you got it. Gotta go, man."

"Goodbye"

Bobby turned the phone off and looked at Warren, who was staring at Bobby with a familiar face.

"Don't tell me you're worried too? God, you two are worst than my parents." Bobby told him.

"Just tell me if anything's wrong, okay?" Warren said, and stood up.

"Yes, Dad" Bobby said jokingly.

He laid down again on the chair, feeling somewhat relieved that he did not have to keep it all secret anymore. Heck, the whole school would probably know before midday.

He thought of Hank's call, his concern, and wondered if Hank had a point. He lifted up the phone again, and dialed. A groggy voice answered on the other line.

"Hello?"  
"Dad?"

"Bobby, is that you?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you calling at this time, son? Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine."

William Drake knew his son. He knew that particular tone.

"No it's not. What is it, Bobby?"  
After a few seconds of silence, William Drake spoke again.

"You're going on some mission or something, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

William Drake wanted to start then, to tell his son how he thought the whole X-men thing was a bad idea. Every night he silently worried for his son, although he never told him. Deep down he was afraid that the whole X-men deal would be the death of his son. But recently Bobby and him had gotten closer. And he knew that going into a whole anti X-men speech was not what Bobby needed.

"Promise me you'll be careful, you hear?"

"Yes, sir."

"I don't want to have to paint the house all by myself next Saturday."

Bobby smiled.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, son."

"Don't tell mom I called, okay? I don't want her to worry."

William nodded silently.

"And you should not worry too, for the Iceman always comes out on top!" Bobby said, with exaggerated dramatic emphasis.

"You wouldn't be a Drake if you didn't."

"Indeed. Wow, I'm starting to talk like Hank. Bye, Dad."

"Take care, Bobby."

Bobby hung up the phone. He inhaled deeply, clearing his head. At that moment, he recalled a dream in which he was snow, falling to the ground. He could _feel _himself as snow, as he fell and fell for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he touched ground, and time seemed to stand still, until he felt the sun slowly melting him. His consciousness then flowed like icy water over the ground, blindly seeking a path, and eventually merging into a river. The river flowed fast, at a furious pace towards the ocean, and he along with it. Suddenly, in what seemed like an instant, there was calm, a calm so complete that it filled his soul with peace. It felt right, it felt like home.

He always enjoyed recalling that dream, and it never failed to bring a soft smile to his lips. He stood up and moved toward the front of the plane.

As he sat down next to Paige, Logan turned towards him.

"Good of you to join us, Drake." he said with a smirk.

"We could have used you earlier, too." said Jubilee "Alex burned his tongue with the coffee."

"It's good to know that I'm needed." said Bobby with a smile. They were almost to their destination, to find Kurt and face whatever danger was waiting for them. Bobby started putting on his jacket. There was no hesitation in his demeanor. Secondary mutation or not, he was an X-man, and he had a job to do. The dreams and the worries were left behind, as he mentally prepared himself and got ready for anything.

"Logan, once we set down, I want you on point with Alex. Everybody else, keep your eyes open and stay frosty." said Warren, and raised an eyebrow at Bobby.

"That shouldn't be a problem." Bobby said with a grin. He did not feel so alone anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

The Iceman's Dreams

PG, Drama/Angst

Disclaimer: Iceman and other X-men characters are owned and copyright of Marvel and are being used here for non-profit entertainment only.

This was going to be a one-shot, but after the events in UXM#430, I just had to continue…

Warning! Spoilers for Uncanny X-men #430.

Chapter 3:

"This is not good" thought Warren Worthington, III. The Angel turned around to see two men with little Carter in their hands. Carter was Annie's son; Annie the school nurse, and Alex Summer's romantic companion. Apparently, Carter had snuck into the X-jet. So now, in addition to dealing with what appeared to be an Army from Hell getting ready to come through a dimensional rift, they also had to deal with protecting a little kid.

"Carter, what th--? What are you doing here, son?" Alex yelled with surprise

"I wanted to be with you, Alex." Carter pleaded

"Very touching, but the timing sucks", Angel thought. He glanced back to the bad-looking demons filling the sky. Underneath them, Kurt and a group of presumably other unwilling teleporters were hand in hand forming a circle, some sort of spiritual gate for the baddies to come thorough.

He could hear Alex talking in the background, but he was busy analyzing what would be the best strategy. He was yanked out of his thoughts by Wolverine's angry scream.

"Summers! We gotta make a move here!"

Then he heard Bobby's voice.

"Yeah, Alex, these guys are almost through—and they're arming up!"

Suddenly, an arrow appeared out of nowhere and hit Bobby in the chest. He grimaced, but quickly started to take it out, with ice starting to form around the wound.

"If I were anyone but Iceman, that could have killed…"

Then it happened. The arrow exploded, and Iceman's body apparently turned completely into ice, which shattered into a million pieces with a loud boom.

"Oh My God! Bobby! The arrow exploded!" Warren heard himself scream, and instinctively flew towards the ice shards.

"Bobbyyy!" he yelled desperately, not hearing Alex suddenly screaming directions to everybody.

He kneeled by the remnants of his friend, trying to contain himself, when he saw Bobby's head, completely iced up, and unattached to the rest of his body. He picked it up gently, and whispered "Bobby…"

Several miles away, The Drakes were having breakfast. Suddenly, Madeline Drake gasped, and clutched her chest with her hand.

"Maddy! What's wrong?" William asked, concerned.

But she could not talk. She suddenly felt a lack of air, and pressed hard on her chest, unable to shake off the feeling that a piece of her heart had been ripped out.

As he stood with Bobby's head in his hands, Warren's mind wandered into the past. Warren had not particularly liked Bobby Drake in the beginning, when it was just them, Hank, Scott and Jean with the Professor. Truth be told, he considered the youth irresponsible and obnoxious. But as time went by, he started seeing that there was more to Bobby than initially met the eye. The two settled into a sort of big brother-little brother relationship, annoying each other some of the time and looking out for each other the rest of the time.

Then the group met the Sentinels for the first time. During the fight, Bobby was badly injured, so much that the doctors did not know if he was going to make it. Warren was a bit surprised at how worried he was for Bobby. He stood by Bobby's bed, like a guardian angel, maybe trying to scare off death.

"Is there any change?" he heard the voice in his head even before the Professor entered the hospital room.

"No" he thought, sure that he would pick it up. "His eyes keep fluttering rapidly, like he's having a bad dream."

They both looked at Bobby with concern.

"Is he going to be okay, Professor?" Warren thought

"I hope so, Warren."

"Yeah. He's a tough little fella. He'll pull through."

As fate would have it, Bobby not only pulled through, he literally had to crawl out of his hospital bed to face Magneto alone when the evil mutant captured the other X-men, including the Professor. Bobby managed to stop Magneto's plan and save Warren's parents, who had also been captured by Magneto. However, still feeling weak, his one-on-one encounter with Magneto almost ended with tragedy had it not been for the arrival of the X-men, who had escaped their entrapment. Warren flew in and snatched Bobby from Magneto's clutches.

"Are you allright, buddy?" Warren had asked him.

"Yeah, thanks Warrey." Bobby responded, as both of them turned towards the fight with Magneto.

Their friendship grew, and in one of Warren's lowest point, when he served as Apocalypse's angel of death, it was Bobby who managed to bring him back. Bobby made Warren believe that he had killed Bobby during battle, and the thought of having killed his friend helped Warren escape Apocalypse's control.

Coming back to the present, Warren refused to believe that Bobby was gone. Bobby was an Ice-man after all, and maybe afterwards Hank could help him come back, maybe re-form or something. In addition, they did not know how his secondary mutation had changed his physiology. Regardless, he was not going to lose hope, so he resolved to keep a hold of as much of Bobby as he could for when they went back to the Institute. That is, if they survived this particular encounter. That thought reminded him of the perilous situation that the team was in, and he looked up at the battlefield just in time to see a particularly nasty-looking baddie sneaking up behind Paige.

"Paige! Look out!" he screamed, getting ready to spring into action. If this was going to be their last battle, he were going down fighting.

Everything was a blur after that. Just before he reached the circle, Warren was struck by something. He struggled to keep a hold of Bobby's ice head, as energy crackled all around. Before any of them knew what was happening, the X-men and the demon-like creatures were gone, and a huge hole took up the area where they had been standing.

It was the third time that William Drake had dialed the number at the Xavier Institute, and once again all he got was the machine. He muttered angrily under his breath.

"Always busy, they always are."

Madeline walked in with a concerned look.

"Did you get a hold of anybody, honey?"

"Not yet." He said, turning towards her. "But don't worry, I'm sure everything is okay."


	4. Chapter 4

The Iceman's Dreams

PG, Drama/General

Disclaimer: Iceman and other X-men characters are owned and copyright of Marvel and are being used here for non-profit entertainment only.

If you have not read UXM #340 (Jan 97), do yourself a favor and find a copy. You won't be sorry.

Warning! Spoilers for Uncanny X-men #431.

Chapter 4:

The X-men found themselves transported to another place, or maybe another dimension, they had no way to tell yet. The nasty characters were staring at them from a distance at the moment.

"Anyone hurt?" Alex asked

"I'm okay."

"Me, too."

"I don't know about Bobby…" Warren said "I have his head here…his eyes are blinking and his mouth is moving, but…but it's just his head."

Everybody turned to look at Bobby's head.

"Uh, guys? I've got a bit of a problem here, too…" Kurt added, and the X-men turned to focus their attention on him.

A million thoughts were going through Bobby's head, the current one being "thanks for the concern about my welfare, guys", which he tried to say, but no sound came out for obvious reasons. He tried moving his eyes to look at his surroundings, but his field of vision was obviously limited.

"What the hell am I gonna do if I am stuck like this? I thought being a human ice sculpture was bad, but now I'm only a freaking head!" he thought, as he tried to stop himself from going into panic mode.

"Well, Dad used to tell me I would not amount to much."

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William Drake sat watching TV, but his mind was somewhere else. His wife did not have that dreadful feeling in her heart anymore, but that did not mean they were not worried still. Involuntarily, his memories drifted to a night at the Mt. Sinai Hospital, which had been such a turning point in the lives of the Drake men.

It all started when Graydon Creed, a rabid mutant hater, was running for president. Unbeknownst to Mr. Drake, Bobby was working undercover in Creed's campaign as part of the X-men's plan to try to stop him. During a newscast, Mr. Drake was in the public, and he confronted Creed about his mutant agenda.

Bobby heard the whole thing, with a mixture of pleasure and surprise. He and his father had drifted apart after Bobby exhibited his mutation. In reality, they always had been somewhat distant, the mutation issue just accelerated the process. Their conversations usually led to arguments, where Bobby sometimes ended up with the feeling that his father hated him. Now, Bobby had seen his father stand up for him and mutants everywhere. Little did he know the price that his father would have to pay.

Creed found out that William was the father of one of his aides, "Drake Roberts", which was the name Bobby was using undercover. Immediately, Creed stopped trusting him. His men captured Bobby's father, and beat him up badly, trying to get him to tell them anything about Bobby. Mr. Drake, however, did not tell them Bobby's big secret, that he was the X-men known as Iceman, or any other information for that matter. It almost cost him his life. Bobby found him, almost dead, and took him to the hospital.

For Mr. Drake, the rest of that night was a haze, waking up for a few minutes, then drifting back out. At one point late in the night, he opened his eyes and saw his wife sitting by him.

"William" she said

"I'll be okay, honey, don't you worry about me." He was able to say in a slurred speech. Towards the back of the room he saw the slouched silhouette of a man in a chair. He could see who the man was.

"He's been watching over you the whole night." Mrs. Drake responded, knowing well what her husband was thinking. "I finally convinced him to sleep a bit."

Looking at his son sleeping Mr. Drake could not help but remember when Bobby was a little boy, how peaceful and vulnerable he seemed when he slept, and how William had promised himself always to protect and look after him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. You look tired, why don't you rest a bit?"

"I don't need to, I'm fine. But I could use a coffee, if you don't mind me stepping out for a sec."

"Of course not, go ahead, hon."

Mrs. Drake blew a kiss to him and walked out. A few seconds later, Bobby stirred, and woke up suddenly.

"Bad dream?" William asked

"Yeah." Bobby said groggily

"You always had a lot of nightmares."

"You're awake." Bobby said, as he started to fully wake up.

"So it seems."

Bobby stood up and sat by his father.

"Dad, I…I'm so sorry for what happened. I feel extremely proud of you for what you did, but I wish it had been me instead of you."

"S'okay, son. I'll live, no harm done." He said, coughing loudly afterwards.

"I swear, dad, the X-men will do everything in their power to bring Creed down somehow."

William looked at his son.

"Their power? You talk like you're not one of them anymore."

Bobby lowered his head. "I'm not. For a little while anyway. I told them you and mom needed me more right now."

William looked deep into Bobby's eyes.

"Son, I think we need to have a talk, one that is long overdue."

"Let's wait until you feel better, 'kay Dad?"

"Nonsense. I'm fine now, boy. No time like the present."

"Okay…before you say anything…I wanna tell you that I'm sorry for the times I've been an ass before. I understand now that you only wanted to protect me, that you always…loved me. And I wanna tell you that I love you too."

William tried to smile, but the pain did not let him.

"Thank you, son, but I'm the one that's been a royal ass, since the day you were born. I thought that I should raise you the way that my father raised me. The old way, where the father is the authority figure to be respected and feared. I thought that if I pushed you enough you would turn up okay. But I was wrong. You did not need somebody to fear, I see that now. You needed somebody to talk to, to help you through your problems and your…mutation. And I was not there for you."

Mr. Drake stopped to catch his breath, and Bobby placed a hand in his.

"I loved my father, and he loved me, but when he died, I realized that he had been a stranger to me. I turned out a good kid, I suppose, but it was because I feared what he would do if I did not….and I can't believe I did the exact same thing to you."

"You meant well." Bobby offered

"Of course, but I'm a silly old man set in the ways of the past, and it was not until I looked death in the face that I realized that the old way is not always the best way."

William's eyes were starting to get damp.

"When those thugs were beating me up, I swore I would not give them anything on you. I did not care if I had to pay with my life. But more than the blows, the thing that really hurt the most was knowing that I would die and you would live thinking that I was a bigoted prick, or that you would not know that I love you more than anything in the world."

Bobby put his hand in his father's forehead, as tears trickled down their eyes. Bobby wiped the tears from William's cheek with his finger.

"I love you too, Dad." He managed to say.

Standing by the door, Mrs. Drake watched with tears in her eyes too.

From that day on, the Drake men had made an effort to patch up their relationship, with varying degrees of success at times. But things definitively changed after that day, for the better.

"And all I had to do was get myself almost killed." William whispered, with a mixture of sadness and irony. He hoped that he would not have to ever visit his son in a hospital and wonder if he would make it through the night. But he was not so naïve as to think that it could not happen. William knew that being part of the X-men was not the safest career path in the world, by far. The X-men hopped from battle to battle, and William was not a stranger to such a thing.

---------------

As usual, things had deteriorated into a slugfest. The Angel had his sword in one hand, and Bobby's head in the other.

"With my luck, Warren's gonna drop me and my head will shatter in a thousand pieces." Thought Bobby, "jeez, this scenario can't get any worse, can it?"


	5. Chapter 5

The Iceman's Dreams

PG, Drama/General

Disclaimer: Iceman and other X-men characters are owned and copyright of Marvel and are being used here for non-profit entertainment only.

Thanks for the reviews! My apologies for the long time between chapters, but it could not be helped. I am writing new chapters as the new UXM issues are coming out. This makes it quite interesting for me, since I don't know where the Draco arc is going next! (Well, I can take a guess, and if I'm way off, I'll be pretty annoyed.)

Warning: Small spoilers for UXM #432.

Chapter 5:

The battle raged on, as the X-men struggled against seemingly insurmountable odds. Bobby Drake would be the first one to say that that was usually the case. But Bobby could not say anything even if he wanted to, because at the moment he was only an ice head.

Then, the demonic-looking leader, Azazel, yelled: "I SAID STOP!".

Energy crackled everywhere, as a huge force swept across the battlefield. In that instant, everything went black for Bobby Drake.

William Drake dreams…

_William Drake waited patiently for instructions along with the rest of his unit. Next to him, Lopez shifted from one foot to the other._

"_Carajo, I hate waiting, man." He looked over at the other soldier. "Why are you always so calm, Drake?"_

"_Why not?" was his simple answer._

"_You must have ice for blood, Drake."_

_Just then, their unit leader appeared out of nowhere. _

"_We have a go, gentlemen. The area has been checked and declared free of civilians. All in there are Vietcong. Any resistance should be dealt with maximum force."_

_The group silently nodded and headed out. No more words were spoken during the walk across jungle and darkness. After some time, voices were heard, soon shots were fired, and all hell broke loose. The soldiers fired into the night, towards the voices and the screams. After a while, it was over. The soldiers walked towards the abandoned village. What they found there would stay with them forever. _

_The village was not abandoned after all. The area was not clear of civilians. All around them was the proof, dead bodies of old men, women, and children. _

"_I thought they said this area was clear, dammit!" Lopez shouted. Their unit leader turned towards him._

"_This is war, soldier. Sometimes mistakes are made, we are only human after all."_

_William stood frozen. His mind reeled. He tried to close his eyes, to shield himself of it all. But he couldn't. And deep inside him a voice repeated over and over again: "you killed them, you killed them."_

_His body started to shake slightly, as he slowly walked backwards. Suddenly, his foot bumped against something. He turned and looked down. The moonlight shone though the trees, and revealed a body lying on the grass. It was a young man, late twenties maybe. Dead. William recoiled when he looked at the face, and a familiar face looked back. His son, Bobby. "You killed him, you killed him," the voice inside of him now said. And William Drake opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out._

William Drake woke up with a scream. Madeline ran into the living room where her husband had dozed off while watching TV.

"Honey! Are you okay?" she said, as she placed her arms around him. "It was a dream, honey. Just a dream."

Bobby Drake dreams…

_Bobby sat drinking coffee with Jean. They were back in the Mansion, after a wild and weird experience that involved, among other things, spaceships, time travel and The Stranger. _

"_Well, let me be the first one to welcome you back to the X-men, Bobby, We missed you."_

"_Thanks, Jean. I'm excited to explore my powers even more."_

"_Are you?" Jean asked him, looking into his eyes._

_Bobby looked down at his coffee._

"_I just don't want to lose control, you know?"_

"_Believe me, I know." Jean said, as a fiery aura started to emanate from her. "Dealing with the Phoenix force is not easy." She said, her whole body now engulfed in flames. "But now I feel like I'm in control." The burning smell of Jean's charred skin filled the air in the kitchen, as she started to disintegrate into ashes._

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

The Iceman's Dreams

PG, Drama/General

Disclaimer: Iceman and other X-men characters are owned and copyright of Marvel and are being used here for non-profit entertainment only.

I modified Chapter 5 slightly to make it flow better.

Thanks for the reviews and let me know what you think!

Warning: Small spoilers for UXM #433.

PREVIOUSLY (summarizes some of the events in the first 5 chapters and in UXM #: 429-432):  
Bobby Drake has been having nightmares since he was a little boy. Most of them have something to do with ice and freezing. For a time, they went away, but recently they came back, triggered maybe by the changes that Bobby has been going through. He is experiencing a secondary mutation where his body is turning into ice slowly but he cannot change back to flesh and blood. He was able to keep it a secret from the other X-men until recently. Last night he was found in the kitchen refrigerator and his secret was exposed. However, there was no time to do anything about it, as Kurt a.k.a. Nightcrawler had mysteriously stolen an X-jet and flown to a remote island. Bobby went with the X-men to find Kurt and they discovered a group of demon-like creatures, led by Azazel, that are trying to enter our dimension. In the ensuing fight, Iceman was shot with an exploding arrow, and his body exploded into a million chunks of ice. The X-men, along with Bobby's head, were then somehow transported to Azazel's dimension. A fight ensued, and the X-men were captured. Some of them were taken to Azazel's hall, while the rest were imprisoned. 

Chapter 6:

Maddy held on to her husband, reassuring him that the nightmare was over.

"Was it…" she paused, unable to finish the question or say _the_ word.

"Oh God, so many years and still…I'm sick of feeling guilty."

"You were only a boy, William, and you were only following directions. You didn't know…"

Maddy looked into his eyes.

"There's something else too, isn't there?"

William sighed.

"It's Bobby. I feel guilty about him too. You've seen the research, Maddy. The father is the one that passes on the mutation gene."

"William…"

"It's not just that…all I wanted was for him not to have to go through the things that I went through, to not end up like my poor brother. I wanted him to have a normal, safe life, and I failed."

"William, every man chooses their own path. Bobby has chosen the way he wants to live his life, and there's nothing we can do about it."

William sat silently for a while.

"I guess you're right." he finally said, stroking her cheek. "You always are."

"Well, there are _some_ things we can do for him."

"Like what?"

"Like, that nice girl we met the other day, Sue, is it? You think that maybe she and Bobby…?"

"Maddy…"

-------

Bobby Drake dreams...  
_The whole world was shrouded in white. Then he heard it. Even before he turned, he recognized the creature. He had seen it before, after all, years ago. _

_Its iron scales glimmered brightly as it moved closer. The huge head moved down to Bobby's level, black eyes penetrating into his soul._

"_I've been waiting for you." It said, as it wrapped its claws around him._

-----------

Bobby Drake woke up. He was in some sort of dungeon, with Jubilee, Paige, Alex and Carter. Where the other X-men were he did not know.  
"How long have I been out? Damn, I gotta reform myself NOW!" he thought, concentrating every fiber of his being into the task. But, regardless of how much he tried, everything was unsuccessful.   
"There's not enough water in the air to reform." he finally concluded in frustration. His frustration grew to fear, and then to anger.  
"Bobby's awake." He heard Carter say. Somebody then lifted his head up. It was Alex Summers.  
"Of all the people, I have to be stuck here with Alex." Bobby thought. Carter was reading every thought in his mind, some of them being angry ramblings directed at the situation in general and Alex in particular. Alex subsequently offered to help him reform in a rather unpleasant way. It was in jest, of course, but it did nothing to help Iceman's current emotional state.  
"What the hell are we going to do now?" he thought. He remembered his parents, not sure now if he'd ever see them again.   
"Looks like you'll have to paint the house by yourself after all, Dad."   
He recalled that last conversation with his father, what might turn out to be their last words.  
_"And you should not worry either, for the Iceman always comes out on top!"  
"You wouldn't be a Drake if you didn't."  
"Indeed. Wow, I'm starting to talk like Hank. Bye, Dad."  
"Take care, Bobby."  
_  
TBC

-------------

sigh I almost stopped writing this story because the issues are so far between, and because the latest ones have so little Bobby in them. Thanks, Sue, for insisting that I finish this story.


	7. Chapter 7

The Iceman's Dreams

PG, Drama/General

Disclaimer: Iceman and other X-men characters are owned and copyright of Marvel and are being used here for non-profit entertainment only.

Warning: Spoilers for UXM #434. Some dialogue is straight from the comic, written by Chuck Austen.

Chapter 7:

Time seemed to come to a standstill. Alex, Jubilee, Paige and Carter sat in the dungeon floor, with Carter holding on to Bobby's head. There was no moisture in the air for Bobby to reform. He thought of Alex's offer, and had an idea. If he could get in tune with the water molecules inside the others, perhaps he could suck out some of the water in their body, just enough to re-form a body of his own.

"It's worth a shot", he thought.

Carter was reading Bobby's mind, and soon communicated the idea to the rest.

"Bobby wants to tell you that he's ready to take some of the water from our bodies to reform. Any water."

"I'm sorry for that comment, Bobby. Really." Alex said "But if you can get enough water from the rest of us to become whole again, I'm willing to let you."

"Yeah Bobby. I'm game. Take whatever you need from me." Paige added

"Yeah, Bobby. Take whatever you need from Paige." Jubilee said with a grin. Carter looked up, surprised, Alex smiled and Paige gave Jubilee an angry scowl.

"Okay, okay…he can take whatever he needs from me, too."

Just then, Jubilee heard a sound behind her. She turned to see Ginniyeh, one of the demonic-looking creatures, standing behind them. Her face and demeanor told them that she meant business. Quickly, Jubilee tried using her mutant power against her, but it did not work. Ginniyeh grabbed her neck, choking her. Paige ripped her own skin away, leaving metal underneath. She punched Ginniyeh, but the evil creature had a special power of her own. Her body shifted, formed new limbs and reformed, adjusting to the battle at hand. She took down Havok and Jubilee, and soon had Paige and Carter by their heads. In the scuffle, Carter dropped Bobby's head, which landed face up in the ground.

"I've gotta stop this maniac now!" Bobby thought. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the water molecules inside Ginniyeh's body. With his sheer will, he started to push them out of her body. The creature's body shrank and deflated until the only thing left was a dry, thin husk, and the Iceman stood completely reformed in ice.

"Thanks for the offer, guys, but I found my water elsewhere. I think I'll put it to better use than she did--don't you?"

The phone rang in the Drake residence. Maddy walked out of the kitchen and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mrs. Drake. This is Hank, from the Institute."

"Dr. Mc Coy! Are we glad you called!"

At this, William stood up and asked Maddy to give him the phone.

"Where is Bobby, McCoy?" William asked

"Hello, Mr. Drake." Hank answered politely "We received your messages. As you are aware, Bobby departed on a mission not that long ago. We have no indication that their operation has gone awry. However, at this juncture, we have been unable to raise them on the radio."

"What about your professor? Can't he find them with his brain powers or something?"

"The professor attempted just that, but there seems to be some kind of interference. To be sure, the Professor himself is en route to their intended destination. I assure you, once he gets there, he'll sort everything out. You do not need to worry."

"Oh Sure, Xavier's done a wonderful job of sorting everything out in the past."

Hank sighed. "Mr. Drake…"

"Just call me when you know something, Mc Coy."

"Very well."

Hank heard the line go dead, and he put down the phone.

"Nice talking to you too, Mr. Drake." He mumbled.

"Are you guys ok?" Bobby asked.

"We're pretty banged up, but we're fine." Paige answered. Blood was dripping from her skull.

"Oww, my head hurts." Carter said

"Let me see, buddy." Bobby said, kneeling by the boy to examine him "Looks like you're okay. You probably have a headache from that thing grabbing your head."

Carter looked towards the dry carcass.

"Is she…dead?"

"I…I don't think so, Carter. I think she'll reform once she finds some moisture…"

Bobby said, but they could tell that he was not completely sure.

"You had no choice, Bobby." Paige said

Bobby looked down, almost apologetically.

"Well, are we gonna get out of here or what?" Jubilee said

Bobby turned toward Havok.

"Alex? Are you ok?"

Slowly, Alex stood up, blood flowing out of his nose and mouth.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"C'mon, Alex, I'll help you walk." Paige offered

"Can you get us out of here, Bobby?" Alex asked

"No can do. Even though I reformed my ice body, there's still no moisture in the air for me to do anything."

Suddenly, a loud rumble was heard, and the whole castle seemed to move.

"What the hell is this now?" Paige screamed.

"I don't know, but…" Bobby paused, and closed his eyes. Around them, blocks were falling, and the ceiling seemed to be collapsing.

"What are you doing, Bobby? This is no time to meditate!" Jubilee screamed

Just then, the roof came tumbling down towards them. Carter screamed, falling on his knees. He braced himself for the impact, but it never came.

"Huh?"

He looked up, and saw above him a crystalline ceiling made of ice.

"Like I was saying," Bobby said, standing above them, his hands replenishing the ice shield that stopped the falling bricks. "Suddenly, there's moisture in the air. A portal to our world must have been opened or something."

"Then let's go find it." Paige said

Bobby cleared a path for them to get out of the dungeon. The place was still crumbling around them, and they tried to move as quickly as they could. They made it to the upper levels, where they were startled by a group of fleeing demon-creatures.

"Stop them!" one shouted when he saw them.

"I don't think so." Bobby said. He extended his arms towards the approaching attackers, and an avalanche of ice advanced towards them.

"Watch out!" one of them screamed, but it was too late. Before they could flee, the ice was upon them. In an instant, they were covered by it.

"That's for shooting a freaking exploding arrow at me, you idiots." Bobby said, as he completely encased them in a block of ice.

"Cool!" Carter said as he touched the ice block and stared at the creatures trapped inside.

"I'm sure he hasn't heard that before, Carter." Jubilee said with a smirk.

"We better go before more of them find us." Alex suggested

"Agreed. And I think I know where the moisture is coming from. That's gotta be where the portal is." Bobby replied. He created an ice platform big enough for all of them.

"C'mon guys, get in. We're going home!"

Bobby's slide transported them through the falling rubble. Paige was holding the wounded Havok, while Carter rode in Bobby's arms. Suddenly, they saw a dimensional portal in the distance, and Kurt standing in front of it.

"I knew there was a portal open. There's too much moisture in the air!" Bobby said, as his ice slide went through the portal and descended towards Xavier, Polaris and Annie on the other side.

Annie took her son from Iceman's arms. Carter is safe, she thought. Overwhelmed with gratitude, she wrapped her arms around Bobby and kissed him.

"Thank you, Bobby. Thank you so much."

"Don't, uh--don't mention it." Bobby replied awkwardly.

Havok looked at the scene with sadness in his eyes.

"Well done, all of you. I'm glad to see you all safe." Xavier said, and then put his hand on Bobby's ice shoulder. "Well done, Bobby."

Bobby beamed, an icy smile drawing itself in his face.

"Thanks, sir."

They had escaped, they were free.

"Where are the others?" Bobby asked, suddenly realizing that Warren, Kurt and Wolverine were missing. Without waiting for an answer, he turned towards the open portal, ready to leap back inside.

"Stop!" Xavier commanded. "They are on their way. I can sense them. Let's not over-exert the portal more than we need to."

Bobby relaxed then, just a little. Then he realized two things. First, he was now completely iced, and because of his secondary mutation, he did not know if he could turn back to flesh and blood. And second, if he was somehow able to turn back right now, he'd be completely naked.

"As long as I can turn back to flesh and blood, that's the least of my worries." He thought.

To Be Concluded


	8. Chapter 8

The Iceman's Dreams

PG, Drama/General

Disclaimer: Iceman and other X-men characters are owned and copyright of Marvel and are being used here for non-profit entertainment only.

A/N: This last chapter might eventually be different from the comics continuity. The "Draco" arc left some things unexplained, so I made up my own explanations.

Ch. 8:

"Jeez, Iceman, you're dripping all over the floor."

"Thanks for noticing, Jubilee."

Bobby Drake sat on one of the seats. There were other X-men in the jet: Warren, Paige and Jubilee. The rest of the group was flying in the other two X-jets. Annie had gone with Alex to tend to his wounds.

"Don't worry, Bobby. I'm sure Hank will figure a way to help you de-ice."

"Thanks, Warren."

As if on cue, the phone rang. Paige answered it.

"It's for you, Bobby."

"Hello?"

"Bobby?"  
"Hey, Hankster. We were just talking 'bout you."

"Bobby, I have analyzed the samples that the Professor left and I have some answers. I do not believe what you are experiencing is a secondary mutation after all."

"No?"  
"No. My hypothesis is that Black Tom infected your system with abnormal cells that have caused mayhem in your metabolism. They have brought about a gradual loss of body heat that has prompted your involuntary change to ice. In addition, they are inhibiting your body from generating the necessary latent heat for a voluntary phase change."

"In English, Hank?"

"Hmm, it is like he infected you with a virus, so to speak."

"Like a cold? You sayin' I have a cold?" Bobby said snickering

"How witty. But seriously, once you get back I should be able to neutralize the effect for good."

Bobby thought for a moment.

"If it is foreign cells or whatever, can I just expel them from my body, or destroy them?"

"I suppose in theory you could. Have you ever attempted anything similar?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Well, then…"

"It's ok. I'll see you when I get back and we can take care of this. Cool?"

"Sure Bobby, I will see you soon."

After hanging up, Bobby closed his eyes and concentrated. He felt himself, his body, and the ice layers upon ice layer. He felt deeper; the ice crystals that made up his current body, the water molecules arranged in hexagonal structures. And then there it was: the residue from Black Tom's attack. He felt it clinging to the molecules, and he concentrated on it, lowering his temperature even further, attacking it with cold until the foreign cells shrunk and imploded upon themselves. Almost instantly, he felt the heat building up inside, the ice crystals breaking up, becoming fluid again, re-forming blood, organs and flesh.

"Wow, this has been a very fruitful mission. I've gotten to see Kurt _and_ Bobby naked." Jubilee said, staring at the now flesh-and-blood Bobby.

"Whoa." Bobby said, covering himself quickly.

"Wow Bobby, I've never seen you so red!" Paige said jokingly.

"I have." Warren replied with a smile.

"Don't you dare!" Bobby shouted, pointing his fist at Warren.

"See, there was this time when…"

"Warren!"

-------

The Drake Residence:

"So you're gonna tell me what the hell happened the other day?"

"It's not important. Everything's ok now, pops. Don't worry."

William Drake grunted. They've just finished eating one of Maddy's signature dishes and now they were relaxing in the living room.

"We worry about you, Bobby." Maddy said.

"I'll be alright, mom. I can take care of myself."

They laid back to watch the game on television. Eventually, Maddy went to sleep.

"You want a beer, Dad?"

"Sure."

Bobby stood up and got two beers from the fridge. He walked back in the living room and handed one to his father.

"Here you go."

"Thanks. So, Bobby, what are your plans for the future?"

"Huh?"

"Your goals, your dreams. What do you want out of life?"

"I don't know…I guess I want to eventually get married, start a family, have a dog. You know, the usual stuff. But for now, I'm okay with the way things are."

"So you are content with your life, then?"

"I guess. And you?"

"You mean am I happy with my life or yours?"

"Err…I was thinking about me, I guess I didn't…"

"I'm more than happy with my life, son. Can't complain. But about your life, I don't know how to answer that, Bobby. I guess the bottom line is as long as you are fine with it, I am too."

"Good."

A few hours later, William stood up.

"I'm going to hit the sack." William said, looking at the clock. "It's late now, Bobby, why don't you spend the night here and head to Xavier's tomorrow morning? God knows that car of yours has left you stranded in the middle of the night enough times."

"Yeah, I think I'll take you up on that offer. We don't travel to Canada until the early afternoon."

They walked upstairs to Bobby's old room. Bobby walked inside while his father stood by the door. William opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. He turned around and started walking to his room. Suddenly he stopped, and turned back to look at Bobby, who was sitting on his bed.

"Want me to leave the door open?" he asked.

Bobby shrugged. "Doesn't matter either way."

"Ok. Good night, Bobby."

"Good night, Dad."

Bobby said, as William closed the door behind him.

THE END

_Thanks to all that reviewed this story, and to those who encouraged me to finish it._

_Carlos_


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